Matthew McConaughey Of "Dallas Buyers Club" To Receive The Hollywood Actor Award At The Hollywood Film Awards

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Carlos de Abreu, founder and executive producer of the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards, announced today that Matthew McConaughey, who starred this year to critical acclaim in Roadside Attractions' "Mud" and Focus Features' "Dallas Buyers Club," will be honored with the Hollywood Actor Award. The honor will be bestowed at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 21st, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"Already acclaimed for his risk-taking work, Matthew McConaughey now achieves a career-defining performance portraying Ron Woodroof in 'Dallas Buyers Club.' It is a privilege to honor him for this role and celebrate his achievement," said Mr. de Abreu. 

The 2013 Hollywood Film Awards has also announced that it will be honoring the prolific and legendary producer Jerry Weintraub with the "Hollywood Legend Award," Academy award-nominated actor Harrison Ford with this year's "Hollywood Career Achievement Award," Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock with the "Hollywood Actress Award," Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal with the "Hollywood Supporting Actor Award," Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts with the "Hollywood Supporting Actress Award," actor Jared Leto with the "Hollywood Breakout Performance Award" for "Dallas Buyers Club," actress Lupita Nyong'o with the "New Hollywood Award" for "12 Year A Slave," director Steve McQueen with the "Hollywood Breakout Director Award," producer Michael De Luca with the "Hollywood Producer Award," and screenwriters Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater with the "Hollywood Screenwriters Award." Other honorees include director Dan Scalon for "Monsters University" with the "Hollywood Animation Award," and the movie "Pacific Rim" for visual effects.

The Hollywood Film Awards honors cherished stars, filmmakers, and up-and-coming talent, and traditionally kicks off the film awards season with the biggest stars and top industry executives in attendance. Previous recipients of the Hollywood Actor Awards include Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, Richard Gere, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, and Forest Whitaker, among others.

Last year's awards show received more than 41 million media impressions, in addition to more than 300 million online and print readers' impressions.

ABOUT MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY
Texas native Matthew McConaughey is one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading men. A chance meeting in Austin with casting director and producer Don Phillips led him to director Richard Linklater, who launched the actor's career in the cult classic "Dazed and Confused." Since then, he has appeared in over 40 feature films that have grossed over $1 billion; and has become a producer, director, and philanthropist – all the while sticking to his Texas roots and "jk livin'" ["just keep living"] philosophy.

2012 saw him spotlighted in four diverse performances. He won a Spirit Award for his portrayal of Dallas Rising in Steven Soderbergh's "Magic Mike," and was named the year's Best Supporting Actor by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics for his work in "Magic Mike" and Richard Linklater's "Bernie." Mr. McConaughey also received acclaim for his performance in Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy," and was a Spirit Award nominee for playing the title role in William Friedkin's "Killer Joe."

April 2013 saw the release of Jeff Nichols' "Mud," which received rave reviews and was a sleeper hit in the national box office top 10 for five weeks. He stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street," opening in November 2013. In the first quarter of 2014, he will be seen starring alongside Woody Harrelson in the HBO dramatic series "True Detective." Mr. McConaughey is currently at work filming "Interstellar," directed by Christopher Nolan, for release in November 2014.

His other films include Brad Furman's "The Lincoln Lawyer," Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder," McG's "We Are Marshall," Jill and Karen Sprecher's "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing," Bill Paxton's "Frailty," Jonathan Mostow's "U-571," Ron Howard's "EDtv," Richard Linklater's "The Newton Boys," Steven Spielberg's "Amistad," Robert Zemeckis' "Contact," Joel Schumacher's "A Time to Kill," and John Sayles' "Lone Star."

In 2008, Mr. McConaughey started The just keep livin Foundation (www.jklivinfoundation.org), which is dedicated to helping boys and girls transform into men and women through programs that teach the importance of decision-making, health, education, and active living. The Foundation has partnered with Communities In Schools (CIS) – the nation's largest, non-profit, dropout-prevention organization – in West Los Angeles to implement fitness and wellness programs in two large urban high schools. Through an afterschool program, they are able to give kids a healthy start in life and the promise of a healthy future.

ABOUT "DALLAS BUYERS CLUB"
An imperfect man fights for survival during an uncertain time in America. Inspired by true events, Ron Woodroof's story of strength is told in "Dallas Buyers Club," directed by Jean-Marc Vallee from an original screenplay by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack. Matthew McConaughey portrays the real-life character, whose self-interest is galvanized into something much more.

A son of Texas, Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy. In 1985, he is well into an unexamined existence with a devil-may-care lifestyle. Suddenly, Ron is blindsided by being diagnosed as H.I.V.-positive and given 30 days to live. Yet he will not, and does not, accept a death sentence. His crash course of research reveals a lack of approved treatments and medications in the U.S., so Ron crosses the border into Mexico. There, he learns about alternative treatments and begins smuggling them into the U.S., challenging the medical and scientific community including his concerned physician, Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner). An outsider to the gay community, Ron finds an unlikely ally in fellow AIDS patient Rayon (Jared Leto), a transsexual who shares Ron's lust for life. Rayon also shares Ron's entrepreneurial spirit: seeking to avoid government sanctions against selling non-approved medicines and supplements, they establish a "buyers club," where H.I.V.-positive people pay monthly dues for access to the newly acquired supplies. Deep in the heart of Texas, Ron's pioneering underground collective beats loud and strong. With a growing community of friends and clients, Ron fights for dignity, education, and acceptance. In the years following his diagnosis, the embattled Lone Star loner lives life to the fullest like never before.

"Dallas Buyers Club" will be released in theaters this November by Focus Features.

ABOUT DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 1957, dick clark productions, Inc. (DCP) is a leading independent producer of television programming. DCP produces perennial hits such as the "American Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Academy of Country Music Awards," and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest." DCP also produces popular weekly television programming, including "So You Think You Can Dance," and owns and maintains one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment libraries, which includes more than 30 years of "American Bandstand" footage. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS®
The Hollywood Film Awards®, founded in 1997, were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory Team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. In the last 10 years, a total of 96 Oscar® nominations and 34 Oscars® were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards. For additional information, visit  www.hollywoodawards.com.

SOURCE Hollywood Film Awards